Saucy Tofu & Veggies

I absolutely love Asian cuisine. The flavours, textures, and colours are always so satisfying. This dish is my go-to meal on a busy night, when I don’t have much time but still want something hearty. Making this dish is quicker than getting in your car and bringing home takeout, and you skip the canola oil and MSG!

Serves: 2

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice, or brown rice

1/2 350g block of firm or extra firm tofu

1 cup broccoli

3/4 cup snap peas, halved

1 cup bell peppers, thinly sliced

3/4 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional)

toasted sesame seeds

cilantro (optional)

Sauce:

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup

your favourite hot sauce, to taste (I love Frank’s or red sriracha)

2 tsp corn starch

2 tsp water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the tofu into cubes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, spread the tofu out evenly, and bake for about 20 minutes. You can season your tofu if you’d like. I really like adding garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. But you can leave it plain.

While the tofu is baking, cook rice according to package directions. Set aside. If you are cooking brown rice, you may want to do this ahead of time since it can take up to 1 hour.

Prep your veggies. Gently steam them for about 5-8 minutes. Set aside.

To prepare the sauce, add all of the sauce ingredients into a small pot, except for the corn starch and water. Whisk together and bring to a very gentle boil.

Whisk the corn starch into the water until it is fully dissolved. Once the sauce is at a gentle boil, add the corn starch mixture. The corn starch will thicken up the sauce. Heat is needed to activate the corn starch, so keep your sauce gently simmering for 1-2 minutes.

In a medium bowl, add all of your veggies, tofu, and sauce, and mix until coated.

To plate your dish, add rice to the bottom, top with the saucy tofu and veggies, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro (optional).